Background information for TPE 6: TPEs describe knowledge, skills, and abilities for all credential candidates, and they underscore the importance of generically-effective strategies for teaching a broad range of students. The purpose of TPE 6 is to establish additional expectations that are of greatest importance in teaching students at distinct stages of child and adolescent development. It is not the intent of TPE 6 to describe practices that are appropriate or effective only at one developmental level. This TPE describes professional practices that are most commonly used and needed for students in each major phase of schooling, grades K-3, 4-8, and 9-12.

Component: TPE 6C : Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Grades 9-12

During teaching assignments in Grades 9-12, candidates for a Single Subject Teaching Credential establish intellectually challenging academic expectations and provide opportunities for students to develop advanced thinking and problem-solving skills. They frequently communicate course goals, requirements, and grading criteria to students and families. They help students to understand connections between the curriculum and life beyond high school, and they communicate the consequences of academic choices in terms of future career, school and life options. Candidates support students in assuming increasing responsibility for learning, and encourage behaviors important for work such as being on time and completing assignments. They understand adolescence as a period of intense social peer pressure to conform, and they support signs of students’ individuality while being sensitive to what being "different” means for high school students.

Candidates for a Teaching Credential draw upon an understanding of patterns of child and adolescent development to understand their students. Using formal and informal methods, they assess students’ prior mastery of academic language abilities, content knowledge, and skills, and maximize learning opportunities for all students. Through interpersonal interactions, they learn about students’ abilities, ideas, interests and aspirations. They encourage parents to become involved and support their efforts to improve student learning. They understand how multiple factors, including gender and health, can influence students’ behavior, and understand the connections between students’ health and their ability to learn. Based on assessment data, classroom observation, reflection and consultation, they identify students needing specialized instruction, including students whose physical disabilities, learning disabilities, or health status require instructional adaptations, and students who are gifted.

Candidates for a Teaching Credential plan instruction that is comprehensive in relation to the subject matter to be taught and in accordance with state-adopted academic content standards for students. They establish clear long-term and short-term goals for student learning, based on state and local standards for student achievement as well as on students’ current levels of achievement. They use explicit teaching methods such as direct instruction and inquiry to help students meet or exceed grade level expectations. They plan how to explain content clearly and make abstract concepts concrete and meaningful. They understand the purposes, strengths and limitations of a variety of instructional strategies, including examining student work, and they improve their successive uses of the strategies based on experience and reflection. They sequence instruction so the content to be taught connects to preceding and subsequent content. In planning lessons, they select or adapt instructional strategies, grouping strategies, and instructional material to meet student learning goals and needs. Candidates connect the content to be learned with students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds, experiences, interests, and developmental learning needs to ensure that instruction is comprehensible and meaningful. To accommodate varied student needs, they plan differentiated instruction. When support personnel, such as aides and volunteers are available, they plan how to use them to help students reach instructional goals.

Candidates for a Teaching Credential develop and maintain clear expectations for academic and social behavior. The candidates promote student effort and engagement and create a positive climate for learning. They know how to write and implement a student discipline plan. They know how to establish rapport with all students and their families for supporting academic and personal success through caring, respect, and fairness. Candidates respond appropriately to sensitive issues and classroom discussions. They help students learn to work responsibly with others and independently. Based on observations of students and consultation with other teachers, the candidate recognizes how well the social environment maximizes academic achievement for all students and makes necessary changes.

Candidates for a Teaching Credential evaluate their own teaching practices and subject matter knowledge in light of information about the state-adopted academic content standards for students and student learning. They improve their teaching practices by soliciting feedback and engaging in cycles of planning, teaching, reflecting, discerning problems, and applying new strategies. Candidates use reflection and feedback to formulate and prioritize goals for increasing their subject matter knowledge and teaching effectiveness.